A test of resolve
Residents at mercy of weather, testing bottleneck in wait for COVID-19 results
Asteady stream of masked people arrived Thursday morning at the OptumServe COVID-19 test site at the National Guard Armory in Valparaiso. They came, they said, because they had tested positive for the new coronavirus and needed a clean test to return to work, or because it was required by their municipal employer, or for peace of mind. “I’m 100% behind it, the testing as much as you can to protect your family. Knowledge is good,” said Fred Williams, director of the Hobart Township Park Department and a member of the Lake Station City Council.
The township is requiring the tests, he said, adding he had one a few weeks ago as well that was negative. At age 58 and as a diabetic, he knows he’s also at a higher risk for the virus.
“That’s why I’m glad to be here for sure,” Williams said.
Health officials said they are doing what they can to keep COVID-19 testing going at state-sponsored sites like the one at the
armory, 1502 Linwood Ave., despite challenges that include hot weather shutting that site and others because they lack air conditioning, and the ongoing demand for a quick turnaround for test results.
The Valparaiso armory shut down early Wednesday afternoon because of the heat, said Dr. Maria Stamp, Porter County’s health officer, though officials there told her that even on days when they close early, they are still testing upwards of 60 people, almost half of the 130 or so they can do in a day.
The testing, she said, has different components. In addition to the tests at the armory, people who are really sick and believe they have COVID-19 can get tested in the emergency room. If they have mild symptoms, they can get an order from their doctor. If the number of people getting tested at the hospital increases, though, that can strain their supplies.
“Having both in balance is super-important,” Stamp said of testing at the armory and Porter Regional Hospital. “Having full capacity for both of them is really key to keeping our numbers down in Porter County.”
She hopes in the coming days the county will be able to move the testing site from the armory to elsewhere in the county, someplace with air conditioning so the heat won’t be a factor.
The time frame for testing and the turnaround for results has been a little bit longer recently, Stamp added.
“Ideally getting results within 48 hours allows you to look back a little easier on the contact tracing” to see who might have been exposed to the virus if someone tests positive, she said.
The Indiana State Department of Health, which has a contract with OptumServe for the Valparaiso site and others across the state, is working with that company and others to ensure that test results are turned around as quickly as possible, Megan Wade-Taxter, a spokeswoman for the state health department, said in an email.
“With the demand for testing rising throughout the country, that is creating a lag on the system nationwide,” she said.
Wade-Taxter said some third-party laboratories are reporting longer turnaround times due to the increase in demand in hotspots across the nation and that the state agency has created a lab testing network to help increase lab testing capacity in Indiana.
She confirmed that some armories closed early due to heat concerns to ensure the sites comply with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. Appointments in those instances were rescheduled and, where sites are operating at capacity, the state is working with OptumServe to determine the need for additional resources.
Additionally, Wade-Taxter said that the state launched 11 new testing sites around the state and is using in-state labs for results to avoid the national backlog. Individuals tested at those sites can expect to receive results in three to five days.
“From the beginning of the pandemic, the turnaround time for testing has varied depending on the availability of supplies and lab capacity,” she said, adding OptumServe has averaged a 50-hour turnaround time since May 6, and the current seven-day average turnaround time is just under 59 hours.
Back at the Valparaiso armory, Brandon Edmond, 32, of Portage said he contacted
OptumServe for a test the weekend of July 11. While open slots were available Tuesday, Thursday was better for his schedule. He was told after the test that he would have results in 24 to 48 hours.
“That’s not bad. That’s to be expected with anything,” he said.
Edmond said he’s done some traveling and been around people who were exposed to the virus and later tested negative. As someone who works in food service and catering, he wanted to make sure he was negative as well, out of an abundance of caution.
He wants to be able to see his grandparents safely and added his father, who lives more than two hours away, tested positive for the virus and recovered.
“Thank God we’re not in close proximity,” he said.
For Ryan Stewart, 36, of Hobart, the testing has become part of his routine. A union electrician at ArcelorMittal’s Burns Harbor facility, Stewart said if a worker tests positive, his worksite gets shut down for 14 days so everybody can quarantine and get tested.
“They have a good set of rules out there at ArcelorMittal to make sure it doesn’t spread,” he said.
While he’d had a negative test in the past, Stewart started showing virus symptoms in late June and tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later.
“My case was as mild as it could get,” he said, adding his wife also developed the virus but their three young children did not.
While the pandemic initially shut down his worksite, Stewart said it reopened because it was deemed essential. Still, ongoing cases and the resulting shutdowns mean he’s only worked one 40-hour week since the pandemic began.
“Now I need a negative test and a doctor’s note to go back to work,” he said shortly before heading into the armory.